davisville junior public school / spectrum alternative … meeting... · 2018-04-23 · smaller...

Davisville Junior Public School /

Spectrum Alternative Senior School

Parent Meeting

Hodgson Senior Public School

Monday, April 23, 2018

7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.

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AGENDA

• Welcome and Introductions Shona/Ian/Shelley

• Update – 529 Vaughan Road Tom

• Transportation Dan/Steph & Kevin/Linda

• Staffing Update Ian

• Childcare Louise

• Transitions Shona

• Closing 43 Millwood Road Shona

• The New School Building Tom

• Questions and Answers All

Davisville Jr /Spectrum Alternative Sr Schools – April 23, 2018 Update

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WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS

• Shelley Laskin – Trustee, Ward 11

• Ian Allison – Superintendent, Learning Network 02

• Shona Farrelly – Principal, Davisville JPS / Spectrum Alternative SPS

• Tom Schloessin – Architectural Coordinator, TDSB

• Louise Humphreys – Manager, Child Care Services, TDSB

• Donna Boyce – Manager, Davisville Before and After Care

• Kevin Hodgkinson – Gen Mgr, Toronto Student Transportation Group

• Linda Campoli – Area Supervisor, Student Transportation, TDSB

• Dan Antonios – Parent, Transportation Committee

• Steph Chadda – Parent, Transportation Committee


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RELOCATING TO 529 VAUGHAN ROAD –

RENOVATIONS AT THE NEW FACILITY:

Davisville/Spectrum will be relocated to 529 Vaughan

Road (the former Vaughan Road Academy building)

for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 school years while the

new school is built.

The necessary Full Day Kindergarten facilities along

with general room improvements are in progress at

529 Vaughan. Additional discussions are also taking

place to ensure a smooth transition for Before & After

Care functions.

The creation of Kindergarten and primary play areas,

along with site development appropriate to an

elementary school will begin in the following weeks –

weather permitting.

The required renovations both inside and outside of

the school will be completed on or before the end of

August in preparation for Davisville/Spectrum to

relocate for September 2018.

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529 Vaughn Road – lower level

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529 Vaughn Road – 1st Floor

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529 Vaughn Road – 2nd Floor

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529 Vaughn Road – 3rd Floor

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529 Vaughn Road – Site Plan

TRANSPORTATION –COMMITTEE

• The Transportation Committee is made up of parents, staff,

administration along with staff from The Toronto Student

Transportation Group.

• Parent reps for tonight are:

• Dan Antonios and Steph Chadda


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TRANSPORTATION –WHO WE ARE - TSTG

• The Toronto Student Transportation Group was formed in 2011.

• The consortium is composed of both TCDSB and TDSB staff.

• We currently transport over 50,000 students in Toronto from junior

kindergarten to grade 12 to and from school every day.

• We are currently providing transportation for 2 major school

relocations.

• Avondale PS – Yonge & Sheppard

• St John the Evangelist – Weston & Lawrence


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Status of the bus plan – drop-off &

pick-up locations and schedules:

School staff have reviewed current

operations at other schools. The lessons

learned are being incorporated into a

bus transfer strategy that is appropriate

for the DAVISVILLE/ SPECTRUM

community.

There have been 3 full committee

meetings with parents and staff, and one

smaller working session to develop

details of the Bussing Plan. We have

listened to concerns and ideas from

parents and staff and we have modified

the stops each time. We have discussed

safety measures for both the morning

and afternoon routes.

Safety is paramount and at the heart

of all decisions.

TRANSPORTATION –BUSSING

TRANSPORTATION –WHAT TO EXPECT GOING TO SCHOOL

• Students should arrive at the bus stop at least 5 minutes prior to

scheduled pick up time.

• Students should form a single line to enter the bus allowing younger

students to enter first.

• Parents/caregivers may help their child onto first step but should never

enter the bus and exit the door area quickly to allow other students to

access the bus.

• Kindergarten students should sit at the front of the bus, older students

towards the back.

• Younger students sit three to a seat, older students sit two to a seat.

• Students are only allowed to utilize the school bus you are

assigned and if you miss the bus, parents/caregivers will be

responsible to get their children to school.


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TRANSPORTATION –WHAT TO EXPECT WHILE TRAVELING ON THE BUS

• Parents/caregivers are encouraged to review the school bus safety

rules with their children prior to school start.

• Failure to follow the school bus safety rules may result in

suspension from transportation or the removal from transportation

permanently. Wait at the designated stop in a safe place well back

from the side of the road.

• Remember the danger zone around the bus. The danger zone is

anywhere close enough to the bus to touch it. The bus driver cannot

see you when you are in the danger zone.

• The bus driver is there to drive the bus safely and student

misbehaviour may impact everyone’s safety.

• Once arriving at the school all students are received by school staff

and ushered inside the fence to the appropriate school areas.


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TRANSPORTATION –WHAT TO EXPECT WHILE RETURNING FROM SCHOOL

• School staff will put the students on their assigned bus at the end of

the school day.

• Parents/caregivers should review with their children the associated

colour/animal/number that the student is assigned to ensure they

board the correct bus.

• When the bus arrives at the drop off the older children who do not

require supervision will depart first followed by the younger children.

• Important: The driver will ask students with a purple tag if they see

their parent/caregiver at the stop before they are released. Parents/

caregivers should come to the door when seeing their child and

move away quickly to avoid congestion at the door.

• If the child does not see their parent/caregiver then the driver will

take them to the designated local holding school.


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TRANSPORTATION –SCHOOL BUS SAFETY

• School bus is the safest travel mode to get students to and from school.

• Seat belts are not required on large capacity school bus as they are designed

differently then the general passenger vehicle with safety features like

compartmentalization, shatter proof glass, and high back energy absorbing seats.

• Purple equals parent program (purple tags on the students backpack) is

designed to ensure all students are safely delivered to their after school

parent/caregiver.

• A school bus safety program will be delivered at the school for all students before

the end of this school year to review school bus safety.

• Each child assigned to a bus will have a tag that matches a picture in their school

bus window.

• Other school bus safety related information can be found on our safety page on

our website at www.torontoschoolbus.org.


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TRANSPORTATION –SCHOOL BUS DRIVER

• In order to drive a school bus our school bus operators are required

to hire and train drivers based on a specific set of criteria over and

above that which is required by the Ministry of transportation.

• Initial training:

• Awareness of sensitivity for Special Needs Students & AODA Requirements

• Awareness of racial and Ethnocultural Issues (Human Rights)

• First Aid, Epipen

• Bus Evacuation, Accident Procedures, Fire Extinguisher

• Student Management, Maintaining Bus Discipline (Conflict Management)

• Lost Child, Late Bus, Late Parent, Child Check, and Ride Refusals

Procedures, Authorized Stops

• Defensive Driving

• Dealing with Street Cars and Traffic Management

• Restraint Systems – How to secure and release students in restraints

• Purple Equals Parent Program


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TRANSPORTATION –SCHOOL BUS DRIVER Con’t

• Annual Refreshers:• Student Management, Bus Discipline

• Human Rights and Racial Ethno Cultural Issues

• Bus Evacuation, Accident Procedures

• Epipen

• Lost Child, Late Bus, Late Parent, Ride Refusals, Child Check, and

Authorized Stops

• Every Three Years:• Defensive Driving

• First Aid


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TRANSPORTATION –YOUR SCHOOL BUS RUNS

• Students will be transported on large capacity school buses.

• Pickup and drop off times are set and available for review on side

wall (see large posters).

• Pick up and drop off times may vary depending on traffic, road

conditions etc.

• Parents should sign up on the Transportation Portal (on the

consortium website) to receive notification of late buses.

• All buses are now equipped with GPS and in conjunction with new

software ready for 2018-2019 school year there will be additional

functionality with a ‘where’s my bus’ app which should be available

in January 2019 for use.


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TRANSPORTATION –OTHER TRANSPORTATION INFORMATION

• Inclement Weather – we rarely cancel transportation in the city of

Toronto but if service is cancelled it is for the entire system and

announced via local media, the School Board, and the Consortium

website. If subscribed to the transportation portal you will also receive

notification.

• Parents always have the right to keep their children at home if they

feel the weather will negatively impact the trip to and from school.

• Before/After Care bussing – will be provided at extended hours to

service students who utilize the before and after care program. One

early morning bus and two late afternoon buses will be available for

those students wishing to utilize this service. Families will fill out their

request with the before and after care provider. This information will be

shared with the school so that each student can be assigned to their

bus.


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TRANSPORTATION –CONTACT US

• Any general questions around student transportation can be directed

to the transportation consortium at 416-394-4BUS or 416-394-4287

or via email at [email protected]

• Transportation for Davisville/Spectrum will be delivered by Stock

Transportation (West Division) and specific inquires can be made

with them at 416-244-5341

• For information about student transportation services please visit our

website at www.torontoschoolbus.org


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STAFFING UPDATE

• Administration

• Aquatic Staff


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CHILDCARE

• Relocation of Before and After School Program:

• Space identified

• Ministry Requirements

• Public Health

• Licensing


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TRANSITION:

A Transition Team of school staff and parents has

been established; the first meeting will be

upcoming shortly. Active discussions around the

necessary steps required to prepare the staff,

students and parents for this period of relocation

have taken begun.

CLOSING THE SCHOOL & PREPARING

TO MOVE:

The existing school will close at the end of June,

2018. Administrative staff will continue their

activity in the building until the end of the first

week in July, after which the “Move” component

of the project will begin.

The coordination of this activity has already

begun with a Move Coordinator assigned - an

inventory of the existing school and the

identification of new locations at 529 Vaughan

Road is underway.

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TRANSITIONS

• First meeting of the committee of parents and staff to be scheduled

shortly.

• Discussions around a commemorative piece for the community is

underway.

• We have secured the lumber from two trees (the knotty/naughty tree

and the large silver maple) to be used in the new building (e.g., cutting

boards for the snack program; a tree “cookie”); we will be reaching out

to students, parents and staff for ideas about how to best use the rest of

the lumber.

• A final “celebration” day will be discussed with the committee.

• We are looking to book an Open House on Saturday, August 25th at

529 Vaughan for interested families (stay tuned).

• We are in the process of working to get a visit for all staff by the end of

June.

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The project team is preparing for the

start of construction. The timelines for

Building Permits and other approvals

are being finalized with the City of

Toronto.

As we get closer to the start of work, the

parent community as well as the

immediate neighbors of the Davisville

site will be informed as to the nature

and timing of construction.

All work will be done per industry

standards, and per the City guidelines

for environmental protection, noise

suppression and dust control.

CONSTRUCTION

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• July 2018: Construction start –

New replacement school

• August 2018: Demolition start –

coordinated with existing

summer programs at Child Care

facilities

• July 2020: Construction is

Substantially Complete

• September 2020: New

Replacement School opens with

completion of outdoor play

areas

The project timeline was adjusted in 2017 to reflect the decision to

relocate the school functions to 529 Vaughan Road.

THE NEW SCHOOL BUILDING

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New School Development – overview looking north-west

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New School Development – overview looking north-east

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Saying goodbye – leaving the old school:

The current building is about to close. TDSB

and the school community are mindful of the

significance of this stage in the project.

Photographs of the building both inside and

out have been taken. In addition, active

steps are being taken to identify what

should be preserved and archived to retain

a long term record of the school. This is an

extension of something that has been done

previously – an acknowledgement that this

project is the latest in a series of

replacement schools over time on this site.

The demolition permit for the existing school

been applied for. The intent is to start

remediation and removal of the existing

building in late August, 2018, following the

conclusion of summer programs in the

building.

DEMOLITION

CLOSING 43 MILWOOD RD

• The building will officially become a construction site as

of August 20, 2018.

• The internal work will be completed first, followed by the

demolition of the building.

• We will be looking at creating a time capsule of some of

the items currently in this building to put into this.

Students and parents will be part of this process.

• We will be discussing a possible “last day celebration”

with staff (stay tuned)


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QUESTIONS?


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THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!


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